The Grasshopper is one of those sweet after-dinner drink that was popular half a century ago. However, I think it’s a shame to let any cocktail die & I’m certainly not alone, because many of them often see some sort of renaissance at some point in time.
This drink is probably one of the earliest dessert cocktails ever created & is a real treat for anyone who is into those After Eight chocolates. Think about it, it’s practically a liquid After Eight. It is comprised of only three ingredients all in equal parts. The first two are Crème de Cacao & Crème de Menthe making up for the base of this cocktail. Surprisingly, both don’t contain any dairy. The word Crème refers to the lush texture, a result of the high sugar content of these liqueurs. As if it wasn’t enough, the third one to top this already rich drink is cream. Even though it is served in a Martini (or Cocktail) glass, it’s not in any way part of the many variations of this eponymous classic. Although garnish isn’t necessary, you will often find out that when you order a Grasshopper, it will come with a mint leaf or a rim of chocolate shavings, or both. There’s also the occasional brandied or maraschino cherries added as a garnish, but I don’t think it belongs at all.
Even if the drink doesn’t allow for much creativity, I prefer when it’s made with quality ingredients. For instance, there are some simple rules that I find to be essential to the Grasshopper. The first one is in regards to using white Crème de Cacao & green Crème de Menthe. This gives the drink its signature emerald colour. Then, chilling the glass beforehand creates an even richer texture & tames down the bite of the alcohol. As for the garnishes, it will depend on my mood. I might have a mint leaf if I want something with sharper herbal flavours, but I will rarely decorate my glass with chocolate shavings as I find the drink to be sweet enough as it is. Nevertheless, in my opinion, a well-made rim always enhances the visual appearance of a cocktail, except when it’s overdone. I also prefer to tone down the fat texture a little by using mostly Half-and-Half, which is a mix of cream & milk. Adding a spoon of Fernet-Branca uplifts the herbal aromas & helps to decrease the sweetness.
Cocktail Portrait
Category: The Contemporary Classics
Difficulty: Easy
ABV: Light-Medium (14-16%)
The History
Philibert Guichet is the man credited with the creation of the Grasshopper. Like with most cocktails, the history is a bit blurry. There are, however, some mentions of him obtaining second place with it in a competition located in New York. The recipe was the official one, equal parts of each ingredient, nothing more or less. Allegedly, he brought back the Grasshopper, to the family restaurant, Tujague, which had recently been bought in 1910 from the founders, Guillaume & Marie. It is said to have made it on the drink menu at the beginning of the 80s, when Steven Latter & his brother Stanford gained ownership of the restaurant after the Guichet family.
Since then, the cocktail made history & was introduced to the IBA official list as a Contemporary Classic. It became quite popular in the 1990s where masses would gather to have a Grasshopper at Tujague’s. People usually didn’t have the liqueurs to make this cocktail, so they would order it as an after-dinner dessert drink. Tujague still sells hundreds of Grasshoppers each week to the youth, who is trying to experiment a different era as well as to the old-timers who do it to reminisce fond memories.
The Recipe
Basic Tools
Martini or Coupe Glass
Shaker
My Recipe
0.5 oz Crème de Cacao
0.5 oz Chocolate liqueur
0.75 oz Crème de Menthe verte
0.125 oz Fernet-Branca
0.75oz Half-and-Half Cream
0.25 oz Heavy Cream
The IBA Recipe
1 oz Crème de Cacao
1 oz Crème de Menthe
1 oz Cream
Morgenthaler's Recipe
1.5 oz Crème de Menthe verte
1.5 oz White Crème de Cacao
1 oz Half-and-Half
1 teaspoon Fernet-Branca
1 Pinch of Salt
0.5 cup of Vanilla Ice Cream
A Non-Traditional Recipe
1 oz Crème de Cacao
1 oz Crème de Menthe
1 oz Cream
0.125 oz Brandy (make it float)
A few other variations exist. They include the Blended or Frozen Grasshopper, a milkshake version of the cocktail using vanilla ice cream for the first one & a mint-flavoured one for the latter. The Flying Grasshopper substitutes the cream for Vodka, resulting in a drier, albeit stronger night cap. By playing a little with the ratios, it is possible to vary the sweetness & the richness of the cocktail ending up with either a leaner version or a more decadent one.
The Ingredients
Crème de Cacao
Crème de Cacao is one of many variants of Chocolate alcoholic beverages. There’s the Chocolate liqueur which is obviously a Chocolate flavoured liqueur. It is sweet & intense. There’s also the Chocolate creams, which are the same except dairies have been added & they have to contain more sugar. Finally, there’s the Crème de Cacao, which is not like a Cream despite what the name suggests. As mentioned earlier, Crème refers to the texture, not to dairies. So, even though, it’s the direct translation of the word in French, it doesn’t mean the same thing at all. Now, the difference between Chocolate liqueur & Crème de Cacao resides in the taste. The latter is less sweet & thick than the former. Another aspect to bring up is there are white & dark versions of Crèmes. The white ones are made with a distillate of cocoa, which results in a delicate profile compared to the more intense dark options which use percolated cocoa. The percolation extracts more aroma compound which gives a more powerful product. Some liqueurs may have added spices, often vanilla, or may have a different base spirit than Vodka, which will in turn impart its flavour. For the Grasshopper, I recommend a white Crème de Cacao because it won’t affect the colour of the drink, it is less sweet & more delicate. Paired with a complex Crème de Menthe, it can do wonders.
Crème de Menthe
Crème de Menthe is making a quiet revival in some parts of the world where properly made cocktails are making a comeback. The bottles offered by craft distillers are often drier & have a more natural flavour of mint. There’s sadly not a lot to say about this liqueur, except that you should use green Crème de Menthe. Otherwise, the name of the cocktail doesn’t make any sense. Peppermint Schnapps can act as a substitute, although it will be less sweet, more herbal & stronger as well as transparent. It's also not technically the same drink, since this alternative leads to a Girl Scout Cookie instead of a Grasshopper.
Cream
Regular cream is a traditional ingredient in this cocktail although very few sources specify the type to use. I tend to lean towards Half-and-Half since it’s the thinnest of all, but light cream can also be as good. On the other hand, Heavy cream should be added with caution as it will easily overwhelm the drink, making it cloyingly rich.
The Mixing
Mixing a basic Grasshopper is quite easy. Start by putting your glassware in the freezer. Then, load a shaker with as much medium-sized ice cubes as possible. Pour all the ingredients & let settle for a few moments allowing the temperature to temperate each other. Carefully, seal the shaker & give it a three to five seconds of strong whipping. Strain into the now chilled glass. As mentioned earlier, the common garnishes are chocolate shavings or a mint leaf. The key to not over-dilute the drink & lose the much desired texture of the rich ingredients lies in the whipping part. It is a quick shaking technique that involves brisk movements in order to rapidly chill the cocktail without bringing any noticeable dilution.
3-word Description
Sweet, Chocolate & Minty.
The Reference
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